Quick Response (or “QR”) codes have been gaining popularity since the 1990s as a convenient mechanism, among other things, to identify goods and services (see, Optically Readable Two-Dimensional Code And Method And Apparatus Using The Same (U.S. Pat. No. 5,726,435)), while bar codes have been ubiquitous since the 1950s. Typical QR codes employ monochromatic cells arranged in a two dimensional grid, the orientation of which may be determined by the relative locations of “positioning symbols” which are themselves visually distinct from the operative cells in the code. A typical bar code or Universal Product Code (UPC), on the other hand, consists of a series of substantially equal length, parallel, monochromatic bars, arranged side by side such that the code may be detected by a scanning device and read in a linear fashion.
In the case of both barcodes and QR codes, the code is typically associated with a good or service, the identification of which may be effectuated by optically viewing (i.e., scanning or reading) the code with a reader device, which sends acquired data to a processing device or system that parses the code and effectuates the identification of the associated good or service. In both instances, the code is monochromic (i.e., a readable space within the code is read as either black or white) or binary (i.e., black=0 and white=1, or vice versa). While this facilitates use of fairly unsophisticated reader apparatus, the binary nature of the codes presents significant limitations with respect to the sophistication of the codes themselves.
Further, most conventional prior art systems are designed for active scanning; in a typical implementation, a code must be illuminated by a scanning device—usually a coherent, single-wavelength or tuned laser. In particular, barcodes and QR codes are, by design, intended to work in situations where it is necessary that the cooperating scanner is tuned to the frequency and phase of the illumination used to view or scan the code. Recently, some systems have been developed that attempt to use other scanner types (such as smart phone cameras, for instance) to overcome this limitation. In operation, some prior art systems may read barcodes and QR codes passively (e.g., taking a photo using environmental illumination) or actively with fewer restrictions (e.g., a flash which is neither coherent nor single-frequency), but the existing art is still deficient in this regard.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved system and method employing two-dimensional, cryptographic, poly-chromatic, poly-digital codes in connection with various digital transactions and communications applications. In some implementations, such a polycode may have no need for controlled, active illumination.